


Refuge

by see_addy_write



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pack Feels
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-25
Updated: 2013-06-25
Packaged: 2017-12-16 03:32:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/857280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/see_addy_write/pseuds/see_addy_write
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Follow up to 3x4 "Unleashed." </p><p>“Everything’s going to be okay, Isaac. I promise.” The words wrapped around them, an intangible shield of sentiment against the harshness of reality.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Refuge

**Author's Note:**

> I know this has been done already (Damn, our fandom has some lightning fast writers, amirite?) but I wanted to put my own take on Isaac going to Scott at the end of the episode and what it meant. This is un-beta'd, mostly because it's 5am and I'm dead tired and just wanted to post this. 
> 
> I wrote this with slash goggles on, but I suppose you could leave yours off and read this as a pack feels fic instead. (But really, jump on the Scisaac train. It's fun!) 
> 
> Aaaaand that's it? I hope you enjoy. :)
> 
> ETA: I felt like this was unnecessary, but people have been rec-ing this fic around tumblr (WHICH YAY), so in case you're curious, I'm [star-soaked](http://star-soaked.tumblr.com/) over there, and yes, I wrote this fic. :)

When Isaac walked through his bedroom door, soaking wet and asking for a favor, Scott was expecting it to be something dangerous. Something to do with fighting the Alphas, maybe, or the sacrificial murders that Stiles was convinced were something different. Isaac was part of the supernatural world, and nothing in that world was ever easy. 

While unexpected, “Can I crash here for the night?” was easy. 

“Sure, dude,” Scott said quickly, knowing his mother wouldn’t begrudge anyone a place to stay out of the rain, especially since she was working the night shift. “But why? Aren’t you staying with Derek?” 

The other boy shrugged, carefully avoiding Scott’s gaze. His white t-shirt was soaking wet, translucent and sticking to his chest, making it easy for Scott to see the shiver of muscle beneath it. He was cold, yeah, but there was something else – a flinch at the mention of Derek’s name that Scott wouldn’t have noticed without his werewolf senses.

Concerned now, Scott shut his text book and stood up. “Hey, are you okay? Did Derek –“ 

“Derek doesn’t want me around, okay?” Isaac interrupted, arms crossed defensively over his chest, eyes still focused on the floor. 

Scott took a step closer, meaning to put a comforting hand on one of those hunched shoulders, but Isaac flinched away. 

“Hey, hey, easy. Come on in, sit down.” Scott took a step back and gestured at the bed, already easing toward the door. “I’ll go find you a towel – dig around in the closet and find something to wear that isn’t trying to double as a swimsuit.”

Isaac nodded in understanding and Scott slipped out the door, headed for the linen closet down the hall. 

The towel was more of a distraction than anything else – as much as Scott wanted to know what had happened with Isaac and Derek and offer comfort, it clearly wasn’t what Isaac wanted. He needed some space, and Scott needed to give it to him. 

But what could have happened with Derek that Isaac would want to come stay with him? The two had seemed closer than ever after a summer hunting for their lost pack mates, and Isaac had a serious case of hero worship for the older man. It would have taken something pretty damn horrible to get him to run away. 

After deliberating at the linen closet for a few minutes – he wanted to give Isaac enough time to compose himself, so he took his time – Scott headed back to his bedroom. 

Unthinking, he walked right in and found Isaac standing in front of his closet, naked from the waist up. Scott’s eyes locked on the lean muscle of his chest, mind registering that he was staring just as Isaac glanced back at him. 

“I, uh, wasn’t sure what to take,” Isaac said quietly, hunching his shoulders and shifting awkwardly. The motion brought Scott’s eyes right back to his torso, making the situation even more uncomfortable. 

“Here.” Scott threw the towel at him, wishing he hadn’t sounded so brusque. But every time he found himself alone in Isaac’s presence lately, something in his stomach went funny. His protective instincts had always been raised around the other boy, since the first time he’d met him, but this was something different. The staring, the worrying, the wanting to comfort – that was all something different, something more human than wolf. 

Isaac caught the towel and wrapped it around himself. He glanced at Scott and away quickly, looking almost self-conscious with the blue terrycloth draped over his shoulders. 

“Just wear whatever- there are a bunch of t-shirts on the shelf there that I sleep in all the time.” Scott turned and grabbed a stack of blankets from the other side of the closet as Isaac finally chose a green shirt and pulled it on over his head. 

His golden curls were a mess now that they were dry; curlicues stuck out at odd angles and fell down over his forehead, making him look so adorably disheveled that Scott had to grin. 

“I’ve never seen you without crap in your hair,” he explained when Isaac stared at him in askance. “It’s cute.” Scott reached out and tweaked a curl, forgetting for a minute that Isaac needed space. He cringed inwardly, waiting for Isaac to react, but the other boy just rolled his eyes good-naturedly. 

“Yeah, yeah, I look more like a poodle than a wolf. I know.” Isaac gave a half-smile and Scott cheered inwardly. He was coming back to himself now. The nervous smell that had created an aura of anxiety around him was gone, replaced by uncertainty and a hint of sadness, but it was definitely a step in the right direction. 

The night passed with Scott back at his desk and Isaac on the bed, the two of them working on homework and chatting idly about unimportant things. 

When it became clear that Isaac wasn’t going to tell him what had brought him to the McCall house that night, Scott decided to call it a night. The blonde was obviously exhausted; the bags under his eyes were starting to look more like bruises, and he kept trying to stifle yawns under his hand. There would be time enough for questions later. For now they both needed some rest. 

“Come on dude, it’s late and we both need to get some sleep.” Scott stood, back cracking from sitting for so long. “You can take the bed for tonight – the guest room is full of a bunch of craft crap my mom never uses.”

Isaac’s eyes widened a little. “Where are you gonna sleep?” 

Scott patted the stack of blankets he’d pulled from the closet earlier. “I’ve got the floor.”

“No way.” Isaac shook his head vehemently, all but lunging off the bed. “I’m already imposing, I’m not gonna kick you out of your bed too. You’re letting me stay as a favor, that’s –“

“Dude! Relax, seriously. It’s no big deal. I crash on the floor all the time when Stiles is over. He’s kind of a blanket hog and kicks like you wouldn’t believe. You take the bed, and we’ll rethink sleeping arrangements tomorrow, okay?” 

Isaac just kept shaking his head, eyes wide and almost frightened. “No, I’ll take the floor. Scott, you don’t need to –“

“Isaac!” Scott let some of the wolf bleed into his expression, sensing that Isaac needed direction. If being reasonable and friendly wasn’t going to work, Scott could play dirty. “It’s not a big deal. You’re taking the bed. Just lay down and go to sleep, okay? We can talk more in the morning.” 

Thankfully, Scott’s wolf out-ranked Isaac’s. He didn’t pretend to understand it – technically, he was still an omega while Isaac held beta status – but he’d figured it out that day in the supply closet with Allison. Isaac obeyed him when he forced the issue, and he didn’t feel guilty about using that fact for Isaac’s own good. 

Isaac’s eyes flashed gold for a second, but he nodded and laid back. Scott flipped the lights off and went about creating a makeshift bed for himself. Not for the first time, he found himself grateful for his improved night vision. As a human, he would have stumbled a thousand times in the dark. As a werewolf, he was finished and comfortable under the blankets in minutes. 

With Isaac’s heartbeat steady in his ears, Scott quickly followed him into slumber. 

*****

Someone was knocking, Scott’s sleep-fogged brain registered. Pounding rapidly, panicked – he sat bolt upright, the wolf taking over before he had even realized what he was doing. Something was wrong, something was wrong –

A quiet whimper came from somewhere above him, and Scott’s mind finally cleared. No one was knocking, but something was wrong… the sound was Isaac’s heartbeat, and the sense of uneasiness was most definitely coming from his thrashing body.

Still ruled by his instincts, Scott stood and slid into the bed alongside his pack mate. He pressed close, skin to skin – he’d lost his shirt before falling asleep, and Isaac’s had crept up, probably thanks to all the movement – and growled softly. It wasn’t a threat but a reminder that he was there, an attempt at comfort that fell flat.

Isaac whimpered again and shielded his face with his arms, looking very much like the terrified kid who sat behind Scott in eighth grade English. The wolf receded and Scott reached out with human hands to shake Isaac awake.

“Hey, hey, Isaac, it’s okay,” Scott said gently, hands still resting on the other boy’s shoulders. “Wake up, Isaac. It’s just a nightmare.” 

Isaac struggled against him, high keening sounds tearing from his throat and making Scott’s chest ache in sympathy. What was he dreaming of that could hurt him like this? 

“Isaac! Wake up!” 

Gold eyes shot open and then Isaac was on top of Scott, pinning him down with claws and the added muscle that came along with the transformation. His brows and fangs dropped as Scott watched, making sure to keep himself absolutely still and human. He breathed deeply, a counterpoint to Isaac’s harsh breathing, and hoped that Isaac would catch on before he hyperventilated. 

They stayed in that position, brown gaze locked on feral gold, for several minutes. Gradually, Isaac’s breathing slowed and his muscles relaxed, leaving him more or less cuddling against Scott instead of holding him down. “Scott?” 

Scott sighed in relief. “Yeah, man, just me.” 

Angry gold bled quickly into terrified blue, and Isaac was across the room before Scott could say anything else, knees drawn up under his chin and chest heaving with repressed emotion. 

“I’m sorry, so sorry, I didn’t mean it, I’m sorry,” spilled from his mouth, over and over again until Scott couldn’t take it anymore. He crossed the room in two long strides and dropped to his knees by Isaac’s side. The words were almost exactly what Isaac had said to Allison earlier in the day, when he’d lost control in the supply closet. He’d been terrified at the time, his fear almost tangible in the air around him, just as it was at that moment. Whatever he was thinking of, it had been the same thing to set him off earlier in the day. 

“Isaac, stop.” Ignoring the way Isaac flinched at the contact, Scott yanked his thin frame toward him. Isaac stayed stiff for a minute, but soon allowed Scott to put his arms around him. After another tense second later, Isaac went boneless against Scott’s chest, soaking up the attention like a touch-starved puppy. 

As unobservant as he could be at times, Scott had noticed Isaac’s reaction to any kind of physical contact. He stiffened at first, but as long as the other person persisted, he melted into it right away, almost like he was afraid it would be taken from him just as quickly. 

“Everything’s okay,” Scott told him firmly, rubbing a hand along Isaac’s spine. “You’re here with me, not wherever you were dreaming about, and I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.”

Isaac let out a choked sob at that, and buried his face in Scott’s shoulder. “But for how long?” he asked hoarsely, sounding bitter and sad and even a little angry all at once. “I’m just a liability. Always in the way.” 

Scott tightened his grip but said nothing, sensing that Isaac needed to get this off of his chest. “Mom thought so, Camden, and Dad, oh god, I could never get out of his way –“ Isaac shuddered and paused for a minute, loud, rasping gasps the only sign he was still alive. “And now even Derek thinks I’m in the way. So how long are you gonna stick around, Scott? ‘Cuz I wanna be ready this time, so it doesn’t hurt.”

A low growl rumbled through Scott’s chest, surprising both of them. “What did Derek do?” he demanded, shifting so that Isaac had to look up at him. 

Isaac shrugged, a difficult feat with Scott’s arms still tangled around him. He was visibly trying to reign himself in – there was a glint of determination in his red-rimmed eyes, and he was breathing deeply to head off the worst of the horrible wracking sobs. “I told you. He just, doesn’t want me around anymore.” 

“Did he say that?” 

“The glass he threw at my head said it pretty clearly, yeah.” Isaac tried to smile and failed miserably. There were still tears in his eyes, and he looked a bit skittish, wild, like Scott’s arms were prison bars caging an unhappy wolf. 

Scott paused, fighting against his own wolf for control. Freaking out wouldn’t help Isaac, but it was going against his every instinct to sit there calmly with Isaac telling him that his Alpha, the one who was supposed to protect him, had thrown him away like leftover Chinese food while there was a murderous Alpha pack on the loose. 

“It’s funny,” Isaac continued in a tone that meant it wasn’t really funny at all, “That’s how my dad said goodbye, too. Of course, he didn’t know it was goodbye, but still. That’s pretty much the last thing he did before he died. Threw something at me. I never realized they had so much in common.”

Isaac’s voice was emotionless, dead in a way that Scott knew. His mom had used the same tone the night she woke up him at three in the morning to leave his dad. Stiles had sounded the same at his mom’s funeral, and Derek had the same voice every day of his life. It was the tone of grief and loss and so much pain … and Scott didn’t know how to make it better. 

Instead of speaking – talking in sensitive situations was a hit or miss kind of thing for him, and he’d discovered a long time ago he had better luck if he kept his mouth shut – he gathered Isaac closer and stood, the other boy still in his arms. Isaac let out a startled gasp but didn’t fight. Instead, he clung to Scott, shaking a little. 

Scott settled them both in the bed with Isaac on top of him again, pressing him down into the mattress. His heartbeat, once again strong and steady, beat in time with Scott’s. The steady pulse soothed them both into silence, and all Scott could do was lay back and let the moments pass. 

He would talk to Derek in the morning, demand answers and exact an apology for Isaac, if nothing else. Maybe he’d stop at the Lahey patriarch’s grave and spit on it on the way home, or something equally disrespectful to show his disgust for the man who had hurt his son so grievously. 

But for now, all he could do was hold onto Isaac, anchor him to the here-and-now and keep the promise he’d made to protect him. It may not be enough, in the long run, to keep Isaac safe. The Alphas were strong, and Scott was well aware of his own weaknesses. But Isaac was worth an honest effort, and he would make sure he knew that, at the very least. 

“Everything’s going to be okay, Isaac. I promise.” The words wrapped around them, an intangible shield of sentiment against the harshness of reality.

Isaac shifted enough that wide, trusting blue eyes stared into Scott’s. “Okay,” he breathed, a quiet sigh of resignation. “I believe you.” 

And that was enough.


End file.
